No-fault Divorce – A Modern Approach to Divorce

Blog written by: Sam Dickinson

Divorce can be an extremely difficult time and process for couples, even when parties have no intention of blaming the other. The current divorce law requires one party to be at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 which comes into force in April 2022 will bring a modern approach to the current archaic approach. The new act will eradicate the need to blame one party for the breakdown of the marriage.

Very often the need to list the unreasonable behaviour of the Respondent would cause the acrimonies between the parties to escalate, which results in them opposing mediation. Many a time, the Respondent would defend the divorce as a matter of principle and against the advice of their representative, only because they do not agree with the facts in establishing their unreasonable behaviour. This would cause the process to become lengthier and more expensive.

Eliminating the archaic Law with a more modern approach

The current divorce Law

Currently for a divorce to be granted In England and Wales, the Court needs to be convinced that the marriage has broken down irretrievably – meaning that the marriage cannot be saved. One of the major downsides to the current law is that one party needs to be blamed for the breakdown of the marriage. One party will have to decide one of the following grounds for divorce:

Whichever ground is chosen, the party has to blame another in order to obtain a divorce. The blaming process can cause the matter to be delayed as there is one party trying to defend him or herself.

The Modern Approach

In 2018, The Government took a stance that the current divorce law is outdated and hence advised that there will be new changes in divorce law in April 2022, primarily to remove the blame aspect of the divorce process.

The new law will remove the need to have a reason or the need to have a ground for divorce, that is none of the parties need to be blamed for the breakdown of the marriage. This process will encourage both parties to move the divorce quite quickly without causing any further acrimonies. Subsequently, everyone involved should be in a better position to focus on the child(ren) and/or the finances within the marriage.

Additionally, under the new legislation, it will not be possible to contest a divorce and avoid parties’ spending extortionate amounts of money in order to defend their divorce.  One of the other major changes is that divorce will now be applied jointly by both Husband and Wife. This will also allow both parties to feel that they had input in the divorce application.

At present, there is a 6-week period between the decree nisi and decree absolute. Under the new legislation, will be a minimum period of 20 weeks between the petition being submitted and the divorce being finalised. This period is being introduced to help both parties to take the time and reflect on whether divorce is what they really want. However, the 2-stage process remains but the new terms will be a conditional order of divorce and a final order of divorce rather than decree nisi and decree absolute.

This is a good opportunity for spouses who are both looking to separate under uncomplicated circumstances, as they will no longer be required to pay expensive legal fees for representation in order to dissolve their marriage.

If you have a question in relation to this article, please feel free to call the office on 023 8023 4433, where we will be happy to talk you through the changes expected to happen in the coming year. Alternative, you can submit any enquiries on our online contact form. You can also find out more about our Family Law services here. 

Disclaimer: Information on this webpage is not intended for legal purposes or advice. If you require legal advice or services, you should seek a professional legal practitioner.